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Perfect Story (So They Say)
:This is perfect for me... :So they say. :There's not happy endings :So they say :Not for me anyways. :Should I stop pretending? :Take a chance for this brand new day... Chapter 1 - Ordinary Day "Hey, have you heard?" The ball made out of moss whizzes by my head and I look at Cobweb. "What?" "I'm going to Blood Pond soon!" I sigh and shudder. Blood Pond is where Cobweb will be going of course. With Drakon as his father? Where else. He's going to learn how to become a leader. And he promises one day I'll be his lieutenant. Childish dreams for us- I'm 17 moons and he's 18. "Where's Lela?" he asks, getting the moss and tossing it again as if nothing's happened. "Um...." My mother...where has she gone? I find it hard to pull myself away from Cobweb's dark blue riveting gaze to look around for her. "Probably gone to catch a rat." I catch the green ball and send it back to him. He catches it but doesn't throw back. "You could come with me tonight." he offers, just like he does every night. And every night mother says no. But she's not here. And I've always wanted to see what the leader of Twoleg Places home looks like. "Sure..." Cobweb's eyes light up and I know I made the right call. Easier to hear no from my mother then me. "Well we eat soon, I should get going." I nod, not even knowing where Drakon lives. It's kept a secret to prevent mutiny. But if I know, I'll be one of the chosen, right? If Drakon let's me live. I know Lela and Hawk-eye will bring up the unspeakable topic. The one where it would unite the loners if I were to mate Cobweb. The daughter of the leader of one side of the Twoleg Place married to the son of the leader of the other side. I don't want to think about that though. For now I just want to be excited about this. I know Cobweb is. "Well....see you there." he meows. He starts to take off, then remembers I don't know where it is, and shoots over his shoulder, "Meet me by the Marked Dumpster." The Marked Dumpster is a white dumpster amidst all the browns and greens. A common meeting spot. I nod and watch Cobweb sprint away. His tail flies out behind him. Cute. I turn away and spot amber eyes coming closer and closer...Lela's home. I sigh and pad to my mother, ready to tell her everything. Chapter 2 - Fireflies Lela was completely freaked out. Hawk-eyes one eyes glowed and I got the feeling the other one would've too-if it hadn't been swelled shut because of a horrible scar he'd earned in the fight for his leadership. But the other amber eye was so sharp he'd earned his Grown Name. It was an honor and I could only hope my name was half as good. My mother had named me Firefly. I had no idea why. I didn't resemble a firefly with my white fur and green eyes. Even with the orange/red/yellow tortie spot I had on my back and tail. Perhaps it was because of my bright personality (how could you name a kit for a personality you didn't know they had?. Except I'm not known for being so bright. Intelligent yes, cheery no. Or maybe it was because my white pelt shone out of the darkness. But all the reasons I had concocted in my head never seemed to equal whatever thing my mother had for giving my such a sissy name. While I was thinking intently about this, I had completely zoned out and when my mother said (for about the 4th time) "What do you think?", I was jolted back to Earth. Lela pushed me towards a pond-glass that had fallen from an old Twoleg den. I peered inside involuntarily and gasped, not being able to look away. My fur was white and gleaming like a star. My eyes now glitter, perfectly in tune with my pelt. My tortoiseshell parts are groomed and especially sleek. The hazel flecks in my green eyes light up my face and there's a deep purple blossom in my brushed fur, a rare thing of beauty in the Twoleg Place. She has made me a firefly. Not a sissy name to be ashamed of, the real thing. Something that shines in the darkest nights, a thing of beauty. "Oh mom," I whisper. "Thank you." "Well you want to look nice, don't you?" she says in a guarded tone. Then it hits me. Draken probably never grooms except for when he has to. And his Claws would shudder at the thought. I should look nice, but this good? No, my mother wants someone to notice her little Firefly. Cobweb. I choke back something between a snort and a sob. My parents still want me to marry him. They want the two halves of the city to be united so that Cobweb and Firefly can rule over it together and we all live happily ever after. Dad nods to the end of the alley and I get the message. Some topics are too horrible for my mother's delicate ears. When we both have padded over he starts to speak, looking about 20 moons older. The dark look in his tired eye, the matted fur, the sagging shoulders, all of this becomes more prominent. I'm the only cat he can be this open with and I've never seen him like this. "You have to." he says without any type of introduction. "It's not fair." I whisper. "Life isn't fair." he growls, his one eye glittering. "You'd better get used to it." I choke back a sharp reply and look at my paws in respect to the leader of the wrong side of town. "You must be wed Firefly. I know you're young and you're friends with Cobweb. But war will be upon us if the two halves aren't reunited. This is your destiny. Meet it." he sighs and says even more quietly, "It's your responsibility. You're my daughter, and I'll be proud of you no matter what. But this is something you must do for your subjects, not for you. Drakon is a dangerous cat and his cats are much more skilled then ours. He wouldn't hesitate to punish us all for your mistakes." he pads away. "Don't make a choice we'll all regret." I still stare at my paws. What Hawk-eye has just let me know is that if we, more specifically, I don't do something, then we, every cat I care about and the ones I don't, the cats I don't know, will all be dead. And it will be my fault. No, not my fault. But I could've stopped it. I have to go to this dinner and get Cobweb to ask me to be mates, or at least show some sign of love, and if I don't or he doesn't comply, our homes will be obliterated. Chapter 3 - If I Die Young "We should be going," Hawk-eye says glancing at the moon. All business all the time. We pad to the Marked Dumpster silently. I almost run into Cobweb when we reach it. When I do, I gasp and he does too. "You look.....great." he manages finally. "Thanks," I purr, grateful he didn't say something like beautiful. "You look great too." It's true. His light gray fur has become a shadow in the darkness, his dark gray stripes part of the night. His eyes have become part of the sky, just two more stars in an endless sky. "Shall we go?" my father says impatiently after a while of awkward silence. "Yes!" meows Cobweb jumping up. He pads off leading us to follow. The only way I can think to describe the journey is dark. We went through things I recognized, and then we melted into shadows of an unfamiliar place. After a little more walking, there started to be guards every few streets. They would bow when they saw Cobweb, dip their heads to me and occasionally growl at Hawk-eye. He just took no offense and kept going. Lela was clearly terrified, but she held her ground. Finally Cobweb pushed through a loose fence post and reached his paw back. I took it and he helped me through. I blushed in the darkness. Then gasped as I saw the camp. In one corner, there was a circle of about five dumpsters with a large space in the middle. There was no prey pile like in our, less glorified, camp, but a fire with a old cat tending to it. She smiled at me and I nervously waved my tail. Further back there was a bigger dumpster with a flat top. On that there was a low Twoleg table with soft looking things surrounding it. I looked up and saw a spectacular view of the stars. The air smelled like fire and food and the wind drifted lazily through the camp. A gleam caught my eye and I looked,seeing the metal vines that came from Twoleg dens out the windows. There were many on each side of the alley. One each there was....I tried not to scream. Was that a dead cat???? Cobweb followed my gaze and wrapped his tail around me. "Don't look at them," he advised. "Let's go sit." I nod shakily and follow him to the large flat Dumpster. He hopped up confidently and I followed. We sat, and after a few moments had struck up a conversation abut hunting. I didn't notice my parents absence and was having a good time until a shadow fell over me. Suddenly all I could think about was death and dying and evil giant ravens. I looked up into the fiery orange eyes of a huge jet black tom. "What," Drakon meowed grinning sinisterly, "Do you think you're ''doing?" Chapter 4 - Pretty Ugly Drakon. The famed leader of his rogues. The cat who has terrorized Twolegplace for moons. The cat who kills his enemies without thought and wades through blood like it's water. I've lost the words I need to speak. Has this foul cat already killed my parents? Is he going to kill me? What did he say? What did I do?! "Hey dad," Cobweb says lightly, "You shouldn't sneak up on cats like that." Drakon laughs, a deep booming sound. Then he feigns looking mad again and I manage not to flinch. "I came to ask you what you were thinking. Cobweb, you should know that our honored cats sit at the front!" he nods to the two fluffy things at the head of the table. Cobweb nods and we move. I smile shyly at Drakon, glad because I can see my parents now, talking to other cats, and I'm still alive. He grins back but there's a cunning edge to his friendliness. And I don't want to find out what it is. My mother once told me that the nice cats never seem very pretty at first and the mean cats always seem beautiful. She said I was the only exception to the rule, being that I was beautiful and nice. Which I think is just a load of foxdung. Hawk-eye agrees. But I can tell Drakon is one of the second type of cats. Pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside. Slowly, cat after cat melts up to the table. I see tabbies and tortoiseshells, she-cats and toms, green eyes and blue. There's only a handful, but to me it seems like the world. Other cats have gathered beneath the dumpster and watch. Finally, when every cat is settled, Drakon takes the head at the other side of the table, across from Cobweb and I. It's meant for two cats, but he has no second in command and probably more then one mate. So he stands alone. He taps his tail on the table lightly to begin. Every cat looks at him immediately. "Friends!" he calls confidently. "We are gathered here tonight under the sky to share prey and celebrate the day and prepare for another. Before we eat however, I'd like to make a few acknowledgements. "First, we are pleased to have Hawk-eye and his mate, Lela, the leader of the other side of the town to join us tonight." There a muted growl of welcome. "And we are even more pleased to have his beautiful daughter, Firefly, with us﻿." Many gleaming eyes turn towards me and there's an applause. "Next, I point out the Wanderer Thorn for his excellence today. He found a wild turkey at the edge of the woods!" There's a lot of cheering and I see a tom a few seats away from me stand up and dip his head. Wanderers are cats who go into the Twolegplace, into the most dangerous places to get food and supplies for their group. Our rogues have so little Wanderers, it's why we have so many cats dying of starvation. Clearly Cobweb's cats have more. "Finally, I'd like to thank Ashla," he flicks his tail towards the older she-cat who waved to me by the fire, "For chasing off some thieving," he throws a mischievous glance at me father, "Rogues from the other side." There's some more cheering and as Drakon sits, every cat murmurs, "And we thank you." Drakon practically bursts with pride. "Well," he meows happily, "I am pretty great. Now, let's have some food!" He raises his paw and about 5 or 6 young cats rush off into one of the five dumpsters. They disappear into one and comes out later, weighted down by tons of food. My mouth waters and I pick out the wild turkey Thorn caught. It must be the masterpiece because when the young cats get to the table, they put it in the muddle and scatter the other food around it. "Let's celebrate the joyous empire we have created here in this humble Twolegplace! Let the fire of our cats protect those weaker then them, and happy hunting to all." Drakon yowled before he took the first bite in the wild turkey. The others murmured in agreement and then dug in. I grabbed some food but apart of my mind was still hissing at Drakon's remarks. Although what else should I expect from these cats? The ones who've never had to hunt or fight for themselves, the ones who think they know what starvation feels like but could never imagine the horrible pains of being sick and hungry. And helpless. "They're cats too," meows Cobweb softly, clearly guessing my thoughts, "They've fought other cats, they hunt for these." ''Not Drakon. Or you for that matter. I think, but I nod, not wanting to hurt his feelings. We eat some more, not really chatting and then when everything's done there's a spectacular dessert stolen from some Twoleg. I eat that too but stop before my belly bursts. Cobweb touches my ear with his tail. "Want to go over here?" he says, nodding towards another space where the shadows cloud so I can't see what lies over the small fence. "Sure," I reply. We pad off, trying to ignore the stares of the other cats. Chapter 5 - Impossible I follow Cobweb to the dark fence and he leaps over it easily. It's a little taller then us, but still small. I jump it with no problems. I gasp, my eyes widening. Cobweb purrs next to me and I want to claw him for keeping this place form me. It's the back yard of a Twoleg den, but﻿ the den's abandoned. The yard clearly isn't though. A luminous waterfall cascades down rocks in one corner forming a big pool. Moss and flowers grow on the rocks. There are some trees in one area. A streak lazily sneaks around the whole thing, disappearing into the trees sometimes. "Is this Blood Pond?" I ask. Because if it is, I'd like to be a leader. "No," says Cobweb laughing. "This is a place the Gardeners keep. For pleasure. Blood Pond is for training. Pretty, but not nearly as nice as this." His voice sounds melodic in the warm air and I find myself purring at a pair of butterflies. "Dad got the Gardeners to catch those and keep them here." Cobweb goes on, nodding at some bugs. I peer closer. Fireflies. I blush. I'm everywhere today. Lighting up the alley, twirling around in Cobweb's garden. "Y'know, when we're mates this'll be your garden," meows Cobweb easily. I whip around and look at him. I shouldn't be so surprised I guess. But still. "So you're parents told you?" I gulp. "No," he says, "I've known." Now I'm really freaked out. "Oh come on!" he says, laughing at my expression, "It's pure logic! The two halves must be united. And we're a she-cat and a tom, each the child of the leaders of those two sides." "Yeah....Yeah, I guess." I meow. Coming out of him, the whole thing sounds so logical. But apart of me is still trying to find a way out. "Actually I asked you to come with me here for a reason." he says. Our eyes meet and suddenly I notice all the cats have gathered and are sitting on the fence. I see my parents. Lela looks happy. Hawk-eye just looks apologetic. Drakon smirks down at us. Everyone else is watching in anticipation. Cobweb leads me to in front of the pool at the waterfall. He sits and I remain standing. Green eyes meet deep blue and I feel a lifetime of friendship break away. Everything I have ever known about Cobweb courses through my mind, but I'm not viewing him as a friend any longer. The playful friendship of two kits has grown into the unwilling marriage of two cats. All for the city we know will fall into war a few moons after this. "Firefly," he meows, his voice sounding deeper then it ever has. "Will you do me the honor of being my mate?" I look at my paws, then around the clearing. I can't. I have to. It's your destiny, Hawk-eye had told me. Meet it. But what if I couldn't? I looked at Cobweb. His confidence was starting to get shakier the longer I took. But all I saw was the cat I met by chance seasons ago and became my friend. Not my mate. Never meant to be my mate. My friend. "I-I" I stammer. The cats all lean in , closer, as though that will force out my words. "I can't." I finally manage to whisper. Then louder, "I can't." Then I do the worst possible thing. I run. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics